PBs and Club Records for Lakelanders at Irish Short Course Finals in Dublin
24 Dec 2019
As Swim Ireland look forward to Olympic year 2020, their final major event of 2019 is the Irish Short Course Swimming Championships. Held over 4 days at the NAC in Dublin, the event saw 35 Irish records broken and confirms the resurgence of Irish Swimming.
Enniskillen Lakelanders represented Fermanagh sending 6 local athletes to participate in this prestigious national event and as per expectations they didn't disappoint, returning with many personal bests swims and club records but more importantly high hopes for the rest of the season ahead building to the Irish Long Course final in July 2020.
14 yr old Ellie McCartney competing against athletes up to 7 years her senior, swam in 7 events over the four long days with heats in the morning and finals in late afternoon, qualifying for 3 ‘A’ Finals and 3 ‘B’ Finals. In the 50m Breaststroke she smashed her PB and qualified for the ’A’ Final finishing 6th. A B-final qualification followed in the 100m Breaststroke where the youngster took 1st position with her best swim of the weekend setting a new club record time of 1:11.36 - 6th fastest Irish time at the meet.
The 200m Breaststroke saw Ellie make another final where she finished 5th, then moving onto the 100m Individual Medley (IM) where she recorded a super PB to make the ‘A’ final finishing 9th with a time of 1:06.24. Ellie's then had a fabulous race in the 200m IM where the ‘A’ final saw her finish 4th, just 1.25 seconds from an Irish Bronze Medal.
After tough few days Ellie lined out for the 400m IM heat where after making the B final she recorded a 5s PB, to take first and 4th overall among all female swimmers at the event. Ellie finished the event with the 50m Freestyle recording a fantastic ¾ second PB.
16 yr old Ben Lynch competed in 3 events at the finals, the 400m, 200m and 1500m Freestyle, bagging a 2s PB in the 200m Freestyle to finish in two minutes. In the 1500m Freestyle, Ben found his form with a huge 27s PB to finish in 7th in Ireland.
Lewis McCartney (17) competed in the 200m Breaststroke and 200m Backcrawl over two days. A very positive swim in the back crawl saw the 17 year old match his previous best time. This was followed with another good swim in the breaststroke to finish both events in the top 30 in Ireland.
After a steady start on day one of the championships, Kealan Mc Shea (17) maintained his PB in the 200m IM, returning on day 2 to swim the 400m IM where Kealan found his groove producing an excellent swim with a notable PB of 9.28secs which moved him up the Irish ranking to 14th place.
Dara Ronan (16) began his National programme on day 1 with an excellent PB in the 200m Butterfly heat, which qualified him for the Final and a finish time of 2.18.61. On Friday Dara lined out in the 400m IM and improved his time by a whopping 3.05 seconds. Another time improvement followed in the 50m Butterfly which Dara completed in 27.90. On to Saturday and the 100m Butterfly, his signature event, and again another PB in a time of 1.01.25. On Sunday morning Dara finished his programme with a time of 2.44.85 in the 200m Breaststroke. A very satisfying National event for Dara.
Cora Rooney (14) was another young Lakelander facing off in 6 races against much older swimmers. She posted a strong swim in the first event the 100m Backstroke, before bagging a PB in the 50m Butterfly. The 100m Butterfly followed with a further PB and the personal bests kept coming with the 200m Backstroke where her slashed over 2 seconds of her previous time. In the 200m Freestyle, Cora maintained her form for another PB whilst the 50m Butterfly saw her make a final improving her ranking from 20 to 13th in Ireland.
Head Coach from the Lakelanders, Aaron Rickhuss paid tribute to the swimmers saying, 'To produce this many PB’s was going to be challenging having exceeded all expectations at the Ulster Short Course event just a few weeks ago but to then step up again at a senior Irish National Championships was a great success and a great finish to the first training cycle of the season'. Aaron also thanked Coach Sinead Donagher for her 'tremendous help and for bringing so much more value to the teams overall performances' throughout the event.
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A squad of 33 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers attended the Swim Belfast Open Meet on Sunday the 15th of February in Lagan Valley Leisureplex, Lisburn. The gala was a great success for the Fermanagh swimmers who relished the opportunity to compete against swimmers from clubs across Ulster, Leinster & Connacht, returned home with numerous medals and personal best times. - 12 Feb 2026Past & Present Lakelanders lead the way for Fermanagh at Swim Ulster’s Senior Sc
Local Swimmers Sparkle for their Schools as Past & Present Lakelanders lead the way for Fermanagh at Swim Ulster’s Senior Schools’ Cup & Championships in Bangor
The Swim Ulster Schools Cup & Championships 2026 took place on Friday 6th February at Aurora Aquatic & Leisure Complex Bangor. Over 1000 swimmers from more than 130 schools across the province of Ulster took part in the one day event. Three local schools were part of the action with 22 local swimmers taking part. - 01 Feb 2026Young Lakelanders Swim to Success in Belfast
On Saturday 31st January, 13 young swimmers from Enniskillen Lakelanders Swimming Club competed in Round 3 of the Swim Ulster Future Challengers Series at Lisnasharragh Leisure Centre, Belfast. The meet attracted over 450 swimmers aged 10–14 from across Ulster, all taking on the more challenging events of Individual Medley (IM), Backstroke and Butterfly.
The Lakelanders squad rose to the occasion, relishing the opportunity to race against strong provincial competition while aiming for personal best performances. - 26 Jan 2026Lakelanders Secure Medals & PBs at Swim Ulster Open Meet in Bangor
6 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers competed at Swim Ulster’s Open Long Course Meet at the Aurora Aquatic & Leisure Complex in Bangor on the 24 & 25th January. Swimmers from clubs all over Ireland attended this exciting start to the Long Course season and the Lakelanders were eager to race their fellow athletes in the fabulous 10 lane 50m pool at the Aurora. - 07 Dec 2025Lakelanders’ future challengers deliver strong swims in Omagh
A strong squad of Lakelanders junior swimmers took part in Swim Ulster Future Challengers Meet 2 at Omagh Leisure Centre on Saturday.
Coach Chelsey Weir was there to support the young swimmers who brought home a substantial haul of medal award pins and a raft of new personal times. - 07 Dec 2025Success for Lakelanders at Sliabh Beagh Winter Gala
6 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers made the journey to the Coral Leisure Centre Monaghan for Sliabh Beagh Swimming Club’s Winter Cluster Meet on 6th & 7th December. - 30 Nov 2025Lakelanders Swimmers Shine for their schools at Ulster Schools Championships
Swim Ulster Primary Schools Cup and Championship was held at the Aurora Aquatic & Leisure Complex, Bangor on Saturday 29th November 2025. Excited for this opportunity to represent their schools, 22 swimmers across 10 local schools headed to Bangor determined to do the South-West proud and qualify for the All-Ireland Championships held in Dublin in March. Although a school competition, all the students attending are committed members of the Enniskillen Lakelanders swimming club and mustered all their skills and training in competing against the best swimmers from schools across Ulster. A successful day saw 4 podium finishes and an amazing number of swimmers qualify for the All-Ireland primary school championship to be held at the National Aquatic Centre Dublin next year. - 10 Nov 2025Lakelanders push for top performances at Dungannon’s 40th Anniversary Gala
A squad of 10 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers attended Dungannon Swimming Club’s 40th Anniversary Gala on Sunday the 9th November at Dungannon Leisure Centre. The gala was a great success for the young swimmers who returned home with numerous personal bests. - 27 Oct 2025Lakelanders Host First Home Gala in Omagh
Enniskillen Lakelanders Swimming Club held their Autumn Junior Gala on Sunday 26th October, an event aimed at younger swimmers. This was the club’s first Gala in their new temporary base at Omagh Leisure Centre and there was much excitement among the swimmers from the outset with 37 swimmers from Enniskillen Lakelanders taking part. They were joined by competitors from nine other Ulster swimming clubs. For many of the 8-14 year-old competitors, this would be one their first experiences of individual competition, that all important first step for every sportsperson. - 19 Oct 2025Lakelanders secure awards and new PBs at Belfast Aspiring Champions Gala
11 swimmers from Enniskillen Lakelanders swimming club made their way to the Lisnasharragh Leisure Centre in Belfast to compete at Swim Ulster's Aspiring Champions Meet; the first Gala of the season for swimmers aged 13 and over. The event was held over two days, 18th & 19th October. Coaches across Ulster use this gala to assess and monitor swimmers' skills, providing the scaffolding for the building blocks for success in the coming season.
All the work so far on skills and technique resulted in a slew of Swim Ulster Awards, personal bests and many top ten finishes for the Enniskillen Lakelanders.
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